Here are some adventure ideas for a UNIT campaign following the chronology of the show.

TUNNEL RATS

The Brigadier ordered the Silurian base sealed. Demolition charges were used to collapse tunnels but the PCs are the unlucky ones sent down with a survey team to make sure that the reptilian species can’t get out.

In the tight confines of the cave tunnels the PCs have to defend against a small group of surviving Silurians. Can they plant further demolition charges and get out before the Silurians either kill them or escape?

ODD MAN OUT

The Silurians released a deadly virus designed to target humans. A squad of UNIT soldiers were infected and only Pvt James Park survived. The Doctor has been studying him to find the source of his immunity.

The PCs are called in when it is learnt that Pvt. Park was immune because he isn’t human. James Park claims to know nothing of this and has a fully documented history. The PCs are assigned to guard him and/or investigate his nature.

James could be an infiltrator, a duplicate or an innocent. You may wish to link this to ‘Spearhead from Space’ with James revealed to be an Auton, requiring the PCs to rescue the real article.

You may also decide that James is truly unware of his nature. If his parents can be located they might reveal their alien origin or that they adopted James after finding him in his tiny spaceship. If he is an alien where did he come from, does he have any inhuman abilities and are there more members of his species living in our community?

This can be a good excuse to examine the issue of immigration in the UK during the 1970s. Does being an alien make James Park any less British or disloyal to UNIT? The PCs may begin to question is every alien species is a threat to the Earth.

To make this more personal one of the PCs could take the place of James Park in this adventure. What happens when they find out they aren’t who they thought they were?

DINOSAUR HUNT

Not long after the encounter with the Silurians a small mining town reports encounters with monsters that could be dinosaurs. The PCs are despatched with a small detachment of soldiers to locate and eliminate these dangerous species.

The dinosaurs could be anything from a tyrannosaurus rex to a pack of raptors. They could have escaped the Silurians base or they could be from another Silurian shelter, uncovered by mining.

Things could get more complicated if the Doctor or an animal activists learns what is happening and insists that the dinosaurs be captured alive, rather than killed. If they are captured what then?

This could lead to the formation of a special ‘Zoo’ division, setup to house dangerous specimens. Maybe this zoo could be based on a distant island to prevent the inmates from escaping.

INHERITANCE

The discovery of the Silurians has raised some serious questions about the human races place on the planet. Some of those in power can’t stand the idea that the Silurians are the rightful rulers of the planet and wish to stamp out the suggestions that we should find a way to peacefully co-exist with them.

The PCs are despatched as part of a ‘fact finding’ mission to prove that the Silurians are actually aliens. They could either return to a Silurian base or find a new outpost. While they may find themselves in conflict with the Silurians their main purpose is to find evidence that they are extra-terrestrial in nature.

They may find this in the form of a spaceship, a smaller version of the craft featured in ‘Dinosaurs in a Spaceship’. The PCs may realise that this was an unlaunched escape vessel and have to decide whether they want to hide the truth in order to complete their mission and gain favour with their superiors.

COUSINS

The existence of the Silurians triggers something from the UNIT archives. In their early days an artefact depicting a reptilian figure was recovered from some caves in a remote Cornish fishing village.

It is now clear that the statue was of a Silurian so the PCs are sent to the village to find out more. The villagers are secretive and clearly resent the presence of outsiders. The PCs might also encounter a young woman who is searching for her cousin who went missing after visiting the village.

The village is keeping a terrible secret. In the nearby caves are a group of degenerate Silurians. Their ancestors woke up several hundred years ago but many of their number had died.

The diminished gene pool led to inbreeding in subsequent generations. These Silurians are little more than animals but had more than enough power to terrify the villagers. For centuries they have been performing sacrifices to keep the Silurians appeased. You may wish to have the Silurians return the favour by helping with fishing or protecting them from threats.

The villagers won’t let the PCs harm the Silurians or escape. Everyone from the vicar to the police constable to the children are part of the conspiracy. Can the PCs eliminate the threat without harm civilians?

HOLLOW EARTH

During the 1930s it was a popular theory that the Earth was hollow. Many books were published on the subject but a British explorer, Winston Denstock, describes encountering a species much like the Silurians.

In the book he details travelling to the Antarctic and falling down a shaft that led to a tropical jungle. Hunted by the reptile men and their dinosaurs he was lucky to escape with his life. While his book made some money it was never taken seriously by the scientific community. Until now.

The PCs are sent to recreate the expedition. They may even be accompanied by an elderly Winston Denstock, keen to prove that he wasn’t making it up. In fact there was a subterranean cavern where Silurians currently live.

They awoke from their hibernation chamber to find the world above covered in snow and ice. Assuming the rest of the world was the same they adapted the caverns, turning them into a vast complex of jungles for the PCs to explore.

These Silurians have powerful technology and should they realise that the rest of the planet is inhabitable they will launch an attempt to reclaim it. By coming there the PCs may have placed the whole world in danger!

ABOUT

The purpose of this blog is to explore the world of Doctor Who in all its forms to draw out useful ideas that can be used in the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space (DWAITS) published by Cubicle 7. I've been roleplaying for decades and have been a Who fan even longer. With the publication of a new system it seemed the perfect time to generate material to fuel campaigns for years to come.

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